It's like when a baby is born and grandma dies the same year. It's like reaching the top of your dream mountain and falling off once you get there. It's like realizing there really are monsters in a closet full of your favorite things.

January 2015

Santigold "Starstruck"

February 2015

Disclosure "Latch"

March 2015

Beyonce' "Ring the Alarm"

April 2015

Little Dragon "No Love"

May 2015

Duncan Sheik "Barely Breathing"

June 2015

Townes Van Zandt "Lungs"

July 2015

Katie Paisant "Human Enough"

August 2015

Mozella "You Don't Love Anyone But Yourself"

September 2015

The New Orleans Suspects "All the Money"

October 2015

Florence + the Machine "What Kind of Man"

November 2015

Phoenix "If I Ever Feel Better"

December 2015

Tom Petty "You Don't Know How It Feels"

2015 proved that it's possible to realize your dream and have it ripped away shortly after.

2014 flew by. I only had time to jot down 5 songs. I had more on my shoulders than ever before. I've never scrambled to get so much done. Thought that I was providing a future for my family. Thought that nothing could stop us and that we were building an even bigger family for the community. The brewery opened at the end of the year and my world started to change. I'll try to piece together a list of songs from my short list and the things that I tagged in Shazam.

As predicted in last years post 2013 was no cake walk. We had a lot of ups and downs securing a location for our brewery. Each month we'd get our hopes up about another location; we'd draw plans, draft agreements and then the deals would fall through. We also watched our son grow from a baby to develop his strong personality and begin to destroy our home the way that toddlers do. Never a dull moment. I look forward to success in 2014 with the opening of our brewery and the introduction of our beer to our community.

I stumbled upon this video by creative folks for creative folks, thanks to the always creative seeking website, BRAIN PICKINGS. In it, Ira Glass warns amatuer designers and creators that the early days of their careers may be struck with thoughts of self doubt and less than stellar production. He encourages them to quickly increase their body of work and believe that through experience, creative success and confidence will come and their natural good taste will shine. I liked his emphasis on the creative thinker's sensibility of good taste. He described how in the beginning your good taste will help you recognize that your work is lacking and ultimately help you improve. I reflected on my beginning years as a designer and definitely remember questioning my abilities. As an interior designer, fresh out of college, I quickly faced clients and associates whose taste or vision conflicted with mine. It's discouraging and it feels awkward to reassure others that your vision is right since you don't have any real world experience to draw from. This is especially hard when you are trying to tell someone how their space should look, the space that they will work in, not you.The saying, "fake it until you make it", has some wisdom to it. You have portray confidence in your creative work and your recommendations as a designer. No matter what age you are, people will always question you if you don't stand tall.Everyone has an opinion, but in the end you are the expert with good taste.